


hopeless devotion

by Whatisthistrxsh



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26537266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatisthistrxsh/pseuds/Whatisthistrxsh
Summary: maki harukawa is a loner. she doesn't really talk to anyone & no one talks to her, which does tend to make it hard to make friends. even if maki has these walls up, she still finds herself in love- with a girl, no less. with one of the most liked girls in their year: kaede akamatsu. the only issue, you might ask? kaede has a boyfriend.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki, Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Chabashira Tenko/Harukawa Maki, Harukawa Maki/Tojo Kirumi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> pda ; penis dick ass
> 
> anyways

She’s perfect, Maki mused, her cherry red eyes fixated on the gorgeous pianist before her. It surprised Maki that she was still able to look at someone like that; through such an untrustworthy lens. It surprised her that she could do it at all. She figured that she had lost the ability to. Yet with this girl, everything was different.   
Maki rolled her eyes at her thoughts, bringing her gaze back down to the untouched sandwich she had packed for lunch. It irritated her how cliche she was: the quiet, unpopular girl in love with the pretty blonde. But who could blame her? Kaede was the perfect person to fall in love with. For one, she was gorgeous. The way her hair the color of ichor drapes down her shoulders, curling at the ends just slightly. Or how she looks at you, like you’re the only person in the world that mattered. Maki couldn't hear anyone when Kaede looked at her. It felt like time paused, just so she could get lost in this girl’s gaze. And her music. Don’t even get her started on her music. Everyday after school Kaede would sneak into the music room and play. She usually only had an hour, but Maki knew that she would play for days on end if she could. Kaede loved music. And Maki loved hearing her music. Kaede would play Fur Elise, Can’t Help Falling in Love, Clair De Lune, Gymnopedie no.1, and I See The Light. None were Maki’s favorites ( not that she listened to many pianists or knew many songs on the piano ), but she liked them because Kaede would play them, the sounds flying around the school as Kaede’s fingers worked the keys; gliding over each of them with glorious precision.   
But once again, Maki found herself lost in her own thoughts, and lunch was nearly over. She truly did hate feeling like this. People may say that being in love is wonderful, but Maki constantly felt like she was being tortured.   
Especially when she saw Kaede walking hand in hand with him.  
Shuichi Saihara and Kaede Akamatsu had been dating for about two months now, and Maki still hasn’t fully processed this. It still feels too… off. Too unnatural. Kaede and Shuichi had nothing in common, from what Maki knew. But she supposed that she didn’t have much in common with Kaede, either. Though she ignored those thoughts. They made her angry.   
Sometimes Maki lost herself in her jealousy. Once, she caught Kaede and Shuichi making out in the music room. She had gone there to sit outside and listen, as she usually did, but the couple seemed to have other plans. When she saw them, it felt like she was going to explode. She doesn't remember what happened afterwards. All she can recall is the roar of anger flooding her ears, the threat of tears about to flow from her blood red eyes, how her head filled with millions of questions, all of them exactly the same: why him?   
Heartbreak was the first emotion that Maki had felt in a while. Other than love, of course. But the heartbreak hit her like a rock. It was all the bad parts of being in love, which none of the good ones. Maki hated it more than she hated being in love.  
And as for the question, Maki still wasn’t sure. It had been maybe three months since she caught them, and that question was still left unanswered. That was another thing that Maki hated- the uncertainty of it all. After the initial shock set in she tried to think of positives. So she made a list of pros and cons.

pros:   
Shuichi is quiet, so maybe Kaede likes quiet people  
Their relationship doesn’t seem to be working out, so they will break up  
Shuichi is too negative for Kaede  
Their music tastes are different  
Relationships in highschool don’t usually last too long, so they will break up

Cons:  
Kaede is dating a boy  
She might not even like girls  
She seems really happy with him  
I can’t make her that happy  
Shuichi seems so happy with her

Maki could think of more cons, she could think of a hundred more, but she refused to let herself fall down that rabbit hole. It never ended well. After letting out a heavy sigh, Maki shut her notebook and set it on her lap, looking out her bedroom window. The sky was a deep lavender, the same shade of Kaede’s eyes. Then it got lighter and lighter, until finally the sky dissolved back into the earth. As it must.   
The sight always calmed Maki down. It reminded her that everything passed. Nothing is constant. Things are always changing, for better or for worse. The sky isn’t even the color of Kaede’s eyes anymore.   
She wouldn’t be in love with Kaede forever.  
Just like how the sky won’t have the same sunset twice.


	2. 2 // the second one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a short chapter, ahaha. so yeah.

But right now Maki was head over heels for this girl. That wasn’t just something you could ignore. Maki learned this the hard way.   
It was a month after she had walked in on Kaede and Shuichi, and she was still spiraling. It was crazy how she felt; like everything was just a tad bit off. Her world seemed darker than before, with all the colors that she used to see while in love with Kaede all of a sudden monochrome. So she thought that, maybe, if she ignored Kaede for long enough, she could rid herself of the blacks and the whites. See the colors again.  
Even if they’re desaturated. They’re still colors, anyways.  
So she tried others.   
Other lenses, those that took the form of people.  
First lens? Tenko Chabashira, a sophomore at Hope’s Peak. She does neo-aikido and is an obvious lesbian. At least she knows that she might like her. Right?  
So a few days pass while Maki tries to get closer to Tenko so she knows when to ask her out. Maki had to look up ‘how to ask a girl out’, which is something that she has never actually done before. With Kaede, it just didn’t seem obtainable. But this wasn’t Kaede. This was Tenko. She struggled not to take notes.   
Maki figured that she wouldn’t have to build a relationship with Tenko before asking her out, and this made her ecstatic. She just didn’t really want to talk to Tenko, so this step made things easier when it came to actually dating her. So she hung around Tenko’s locker before class, just watching. Waiting. Like a predator with prey.   
Though Maki only really talked to Tenko a few times, she could tell something was off. Tenko constantly seemed distracted while talking to Maki. Not a jittery distraction, but a sad one. It seems like her colors are monochromed as well. It takes one to know one. But who? Who left her world dark? Maki’s eyes scanned the hallways once when they were talking, just to see who it was that kept Tenko distracted. It wasn’t hard. She was staring right at her.  
It was Himiko Yumeno. Maki wasn’t surprised. She had heard about Tenko’s infatuation with the short redheaded girl for a while now, even if she herself didn’t speak to either of them. Tenko was loud and annoying and Himiko was aloof and full of shit. Maki wasn’t sure which was worse. But one day she just stopped hearing about it. It was probably because Himiko had a girlfriend of herself now. Miu Iruma and Himiko Yumeno have been dating for only 2 weeks now, but it was clearly hitting Tenko like a ton of bricks. Maki felt kind of bad. But at least Himiko took someone off the market. Though would Tenko even want to date her? Especially after being so hung up on Himiko still.   
Maybe she would just be more desperate.  
“Tenko,” Maki stated, her voice firm. Tenko’s moss green eyes flicking to hers, startled.   
“Yeah?”   
“Do you wanna go out sometime?”   
Tenko flushed immediately, her face and the tips of her ears going a deep red. “O-Oh, well I don’t know-”  
“Just a yes or no answer,” Maki continued, her face expressionless.  
“Yes..?” Tenko half-asked, tapping her index fingers together nervously.  
Maybe Maki could fall in love with her. Tenko was cute. The way she blushes is cute. The little mole under her mouth. Her long eyelashes. Her hair is a dark shade of stygian iron. How it fell, how it bounced as she walked. Her eyes, a dull emerald green that made her look both sophisticated and homey at the same time. She was pretty. But not as pretty as Kaede. No one could be as pretty as Kaede.   
But Maki still nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you at that coffee shop a block away from the school?” Maki had thought this through extensively, but she still hadn’t thought of a date idea. She considered all the ideas she had with Kaede, but she knew those wouldn’t work. It just wasn’t with the right girl. It would never work without Kaede. So instead she just used a generic date idea: coffee shop. It could be cute. They can talk about what kind of coffee they like and stuff. It will be romantic.   
Tenko only nodded. She still looked dazed as she went back to her locker, sneaking short glances at Maki through thick lashes.  
Maki didn’t look back.


	3. 3 // date time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maki and tenko go on their date.

“S-So, why did you ask me to c-come here with you?” Tenko asked, fiddling with her cup of rather sweetened coffee. 

Maki shrugged, drinking from her americano. “I guess I like you.” That is why people ask each other out, isn't it? That’s sometimes the only reason why. Sometimes you only need one: because I like you. But what happens when even that’s not true?

“W-Well I just thought it was weird, y’know. I-I mean, we’ve never talked much in school, so I didn’t realize you felt that way..”

“People usually don’t.”

Tenko was incredibly awkward. It would be possible that she does like Maki, though it is seriously unlikely. She’s probably just a bit weird. Maki wouldn’t put it past her. Tenko was, as an overall, odd. The way she glared at every guy that even walked past them, how she got this sudden fire in her eyes that Maki hasn’t seen before. She supposed that it was attractive. 

But the colors weren’t there.

Then another guy passed, and Tenko glared, her eyes shining like the emeralds they are. “Why do you do that?” Maki asked. She figured that this may help her get closer to Tenko. Hopefully it works. 

Tenko was quick with a response, tilting her head upwards indignantly and flicking her tongue. “They’re degenerates.”

Now that was surprising. “Um.. the guys?”

She nodded. “Yeah. All of them.”

Maki could still salvage this. “So.. is that why you like girls?”

Tenko seemed rather offended by that. Maki could tell because Tenko straightened her back and clutched her hands at her sides. But she shrugged. “Maybe. I just like girls. No reason.”

Maki nodded, but she didn’t really understand. How can you just like someone? The only person she can ever really recall liking in the way she likes Kaede is some kid from the orphanage. But he was nothing really special. Just a vault of empty promises she swore to keep. And she knew that she would never feel what she feels towards Kaede for anyone else. That was merely impossible. Not to mention painful.

Tenko seemed to be able to spot the look in Maki’s eye and faltered, her grip loosening. “Is.. something wrong?”

It almost made Maki cringe at how sincere she sounded. How could someone so nice have to deal with the same thing as Maki? It made a pit of guilt open up in her stomach, as if it were her fault. She shook her head though. “No. Just dozing off, I guess.”

Tenko nodded, dropping it just as she finished up her coffee. They sat together in silence for a while. Minutes, hours, daysー Maki couldn’t tell how long she just sat there, Tenko in front of her, fiddling with the cap of her coffee. Maki’s americano grew cold. Her small hands held onto the cup anyways. Almost too tight. Then, just as her vision began to blur, Tenko reached over, and suddenly her hand was in hers. 

Maki looked up to meet her eyes, skin prickling from the touch.

Tenko’s eyes were cloudy with something all too familiar. Maki figured that it was the same thing that shone in her own eyes: heartache. 

Maki squeezed back.


End file.
